Utility cancels contract for Tessera’s Calico solar project

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NTRâ€™s Tessera Solar has suffered a major setback with the loss of a 663.5-megawatt power purchase agreement with utility Southern California Edison for its Calico solar power plant project.

The abrupt cancellation of the five-year-old contract comes just eight weeks after California and federal officials approved Calico, which they put on a fast track so Tessera could qualify for lucrative government incentives for large-scale renewable energy projects.

Neither the utility nor Tessera would comment on the reasons for scrapping the 20-year power purchase agreement, citing confidentiality provisions. Signed in August 2005, it was one of the largest contracts for electricity to be generated by a single solar thermal power plant.

Southern California Edison notified the California Public Utilities Commission in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had terminated the power purchase agreement, or PPA, with Tessera.

â€śCalico Solar is a fully permitted facility, has an interconnection agreement for 850 MW, and is pursuing alternative PPAs to assure its position as a key component of California’s renewable energy future,â€ť Janette Coates, a Tessera spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

Tessera, however, has yet to arrange financing to build Calico in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles or its approved 709-megawatt Imperial Valley Solar Project near the Mexican border. The company has estimated it would cost around $4.6 billion to build the two projects, which would deploy 54,900 large solar dishes on 10,000 acres of government-owned desert land.

The solar dishes, called SunCatchers, are 40-feet tall and 38-feet wide and resemble large mirrored satellite receivers. The mirrors focus the sun on a Stirling engine filled with hydrogen gas that expands as it is heated, driving pistons to generate electricity. The technology has been proven in pilot projects but never tried on a large scale.

Citing sources with knowledge of the two projects, Reuters reported last week that Â potential buyers, including First Solar, have approached Tessera about acquiring the Calico and Imperial Valley licenses. Itâ€™s almost certain that any buyer would replace Tesseraâ€™s technology with other solar thermal systems or photovoltaic panels.

Tessera declined to comment on what it called speculation.

A buyer would face the prospect of further environmental review if it wanted to deploy a new technology that would have different impacts on the sitesâ€™ landscape and wildlife.

Both projects come with obstacles to overcome. The Quechan Native American tribe has sued the United States Interior Department over its approval of the Imperial Valley power plant. The tribe recently won a temporarily injunction blocking construction until a judge can hear its claims that the government failed to adequately consult with the Quechan over the projectâ€™s impact on their ancestral lands.

Environmental and union groups, meanwhile, have said they are considering suing the California Energy Commission over the harm they say the Calico project will do to protected wildlife.

The meaning of this story mis to me, that we all have not to wait for gigantic utilities who clain to “safe the word”, but only want to maintain their archaic energy system. We have to rely on concerend citizens, who know,what they are doing in nvesting in a real renewable, sustainable and most of all: decentralized energy system.

I have mixed feelings about this. I do not know what the environmental impact of this is compared to large hydro projects. Also, what is the cost per kilowatt compared to coal or natural gas? Would a more modest project be feasible? Is Tessera doing other large projects that are environmentally and economically viable? Is Southern Edison in cahoots with Exxon? Or is this a sign that the renewable power industry is starting to wane?

Let’s go small like the African’s – put small powerful panels on people’s houses. These big projects are full of so many issues, they never seem to happen, and we need to keep moving forward with alternative energy ways and means.

[...] Suncatcher solar technology (pictured, right). Just a few days ago, Southern California Edison cancelled its power purchase agreement for Calico. Overall, a disappointing end for a solar project that has been several years in the [...]

[...] plant.Â If it ends up going the way of other stimulus funded solar projects, Imperial Valley and Calico (both also in CA) , well lets just say local residents shouldnâ€™t be holding their breath for all [...]

[...] must be approved by state regulators — come just two weeks after Southern California Edison canceled a five-year-old deal to buy 663.5 megawatts of electricity that was to be generated by the Calico gigantic solar thermal [...]

[...] was having trouble securing funds to continue the project and when Southern California Edison canceled its contract to buy power from the project. K Road asked the commission to change the scope of the project in [...]

[...] was having trouble securing funds to continue the project and when Southern California Edison canceled its contract to buy power from the project. K Road asked the commission to change the scope of the project in [...]